"But I have called you my friends..."

(Vanesssa and Mai who came to small group.) Friendships. I can't imagine what my life would be like without certain friends who have helped me, guided me, encouraged me, laughed with me, and cried with me along the way. (You know who you are--and I am grateful to have to you in my life!) Last night my girls small group started and together we looked at John 15:15, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." And we talked about what it would have been like to have been there as Jesus called us His friends. One girl said that she was filled with awe and would have been shocked at Jesus wanting to become our friend, another talked about how friendship is not one-sided but mutual and there then needs to be a mutual desire and trust in the other. This is the general theme of my small group this year, to further learn how to become the friend of God.

Just writing this now awes me and reminds me that that is exactly God's heart. From the moment He lead the Israelites out of Egypt up through the sending of His son...it was done that He might have relationship with us. Wow. A lot of times, God teaches me through my life-situations, and in this instance...my friendships here on earth.

These past 15 months I have had the opportunity to live with four beautiful roommates, Vanessa (from Ecuador), Stéphanie (from Switzerland, but grew up in Tunisia), Françoise (from Cameroon), and Joëlle (from Congo). But as time has gone on this family of five has become a family of two. Stéphanie recently got married, Françoise recently found an apartment, and Vanessa bought her plane ticket to go back to Ecuador. But this year has been wonderful, and I have learned a lot from them and shared many moments with them. Right now it is just Joëlle and I here in the house which is a little quieter, but filled with memories and ready to make more as we experience what it means not only to be one another's friend, but how to also be the friend of God.